Warehouse truck



Jan. 11, 1938.

w. A. BERG 2,105,210

WAREHOUSE TRUCK Filed Jan. 31, 1-936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. I

Wl b am Ber Jan. 11, 1938. w BERG 2,105,210

WAREHOUSE TRUCK I Filed Jan. 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

W/Y/fum A. Ber

ATTORNEY] Patented Jan. 11, 1938 2,105,210, v r jWA H TE trai ercwilliam' A. Berg, Yakinia, Wash. "ap licant may 3 .1936 ser m ,65 ii-cl s. (Oren-tat) r This invention relates .towarehouse trucks with theobject thereof, generally stated, being to provide an improved truck ofrelatively simple and especially durable construction capable ofhandling the movement of fruit boxes andthe like more, advantageouslythan heretofore been possible. r A I j n M r part ularly. -stat d, bjecto the irre ent :invention are to ppr v d a warehou t uck in which ;theclamping arms areaiiorded-.a;ma :terially wider ran e of--movement-\than has;;here- .tofore been possible and to obtain :a tmore em t:- tive control of "the locking hanismhy which i the clampingarms are restrained {from expanding :beyond;positioned:clamping points;

:tI'he foregoing;rtogetherzwith :further and :still more particularobjects and advantages, 1wil1be- (come apparent in ;;the :course:of'rthe followingidetaileddescription and @claims, :the Linvention-consisting in ithe znovel construction,- adaptation,

and combination cof rparts hereinafter "described and claimed. 7 M vIn=the drawings:-

.=Figure 1: isuia aside i elevationalfi vievv tindicating thetruckvasvthe-asame is tapplied;:imtiltingaaiplurality ofwifruit gcboxeswpreparatory r150" moving rthe same. 0' a 2 is an enlarged ,detailwafrontelevation to expose --the operating rmecha-nism, ,ifulltand zd t'e lines1in ifcatingithescontracted endem te ded positions-anthejaws; p

-1 ig-Y: 3m-is a detailglon itudinal verticalgs q q Fig. 4 is anenlarged detail horizontalsection taken; onthe line 4-141. of Eig 2.

Fi ;5 g is 1 an larg d eta ;ilone uciina ver- Q mk P-Q tio ith c ampin am th block; and V t E fiti t-a d t t an vers vertic l secti nr et illtra es z m lsiv :ezirameincludin il' r l -epa o git d na m m er lin re dof w ic t nsti ute han l q ingrthetrucktand the loyverends rec lets8jwhichjare forined tomrov e e ng racksuitably mounted on the axle to"dispose,- e same [in spaced relation overlyi g the; PDDB eag'f'or the rramammbrm m1 extending hetwee the iterates a 55 same 151a 'bnltalglyfcores'pe tive slide arms I3. As indicated, eachbf 45 V eo nncting farmscross the I vertical planeqfof [the disc ai iistvvhendisposed in fullyretracted l a pew niar i e ages a ris ing arms are formed to a. relativeh shape'ingplan I configuration to provide trans}(e ?ely disposed {slidearms l3 which projectfc rwardly" at "outer endsof the same'in shankelements I 4, said shank elements terminating'in gdownwardly offsetTfinfi gers J5 which project inwardly. Designed to effect a wedgeaction asfthe samejare forced under a pile ofboxes, the fingers act to:tilt the ,boxes rearwardly against the floor of the truck.

'I 'hetsl'de arms 13 I form to a relativeT-shape l0 in cross-.sectionandprovided as a track therefor ,is a channeled ,bar 16 ekt'endingthe widthof the truck and boltably or otherwise rigidly sepuredatjthe lower endof the laifitfr. "Toflreceive id 'bar=l 6,,the-;frame membefrslaregsuitably 1 5 notched and, above :thebar in the plane V of" thetension of the arrns.

--While priqr truck pconstructions have utilized .slide ar ns, provideopenings accommodating exarms against loox ii rifl uencedi spreadinghave 1 requi edzh nd mhes ae w r fl s trelea er-is emp Q -qd ith i o fidfi Pedal a for spreading-thearrns, breakage "frequently 'ocifcurs frorna tendency of operators to ap'ply foot F p essuren-inx -a wfi ndm;In-overcom ing -the 'ahove'objeetions', I provide a a; sectorarrangement inwhich a disc member TI 1 -is-;mounted-ahove the slidingarms l3, a longitudin'ally disposed horizontal shaft I B operating as anthereforwiththeg shaittbeing formed sas a stud extension froma lo1ock [9holtagbly secured to the underside of thefloorplate "I "Pro- 40 vided atrelative diametrically opposite [sides of s sc rnember are vvliist pins'2'0 1 for piv'o'tally .rec r g connecting arms 2l and 22 which," at

te ends engage the innen terrnini'jj'of the positions-with; the wrist Ipins being located such flthat then overnent of the same 'i'srelativelyhorizontal whereby to obtain a substantially qq tstant leveragethroughthe range of movement of:ithe clampingarms. For operating the disc minber,

1i: 7 liiriven lndi o f ithe arm bein en agedfib lathrust sponse toopposite direction of rotation,

on vertical rods 26 supported by a rigid frame member 21 with manualelevation of the same being afforded through depression of a foot lever28 fulcrumed, at 29, to a swinging link 30 carried by the truck axle. Toprevent the thrust block from moving downwardly following depression ofsaid foot lever, I provide a rack 3| the teeth of which operate toreceive a pawl 32 pivotally carried by the block 25 and in automaticallydisengaging said pawl in response to and to accommodate' manualdepression of the thrust block, a foot pedal 33 is pivotally carried bythe block at the upper end of the same and engaged by a link 34 with thepawl. Opposing said pawl release and acting to influence the pawl into"engagement with the rack teeth is a spring 35.

The operation should be clear from the foregoing, it being my intentionthat the invention be limited only within nexed claims.

What I claim, is: 1. In a warehouse truck, in combination with a wheeledvehicle of the character described, and a pair of opposing clamping armssupported thereby for span-regulating movements transversely of thevehicle, rotary means, coupling means connecting said rotary means withthe clamping arms for expanding the clamping arms in removement of therotary means in one direction of rotation and for retracting theclamping arms in response to movement in the means for actuating saidrotary means in selective directive rotations, means by which the armsare automatically locked in selected span-regulating positions, saidautomatically operated locking means permitting free contractionmovement and preventing expansion movement of the arms only, and meansacting to release said locking means simultaneously with the operationof said means by which the arms are expanded.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said clamping arms areslidable in a rectilineal plane, said connecting means comprising wristpins carried by the rotary means in ofi-set: relation to the axis ofrotation of the Same, and connecting arms between said wrist pins andthe clamping arms for linking the same together.

3. In a warehouse truck, in combination with a wheeled vehicle of thecharacter described, and" a pair of opposing box-clamping arms supportedthereby for contraction and expansion movements transversely of thevehicle, rotary control means having crank connection with the clamp-.ing arms, foot-operated pedals actuated independently for transmittingopposite directive rotations to the rotary means in selectivelycontracting and expanding the arms, and pedalreleased lock mechanism forsecuring the arms in adjusted positions.

4. In a warehouse truck of the character described, the combination of apair of opposing box-clamping members supported for movementtransversely of the truck whereby to expand and contract the members, apair of foot-actuated devices having operative connection with theclamping members and actuated independently to contract and expand theclamping members, and

means for locking the clamping members in selected contracted positionsagainst box-infiuenced expansion movement only, said footactuated devicefor expanding the clamping members being provided with means forreleasing the locking means simultaneously with foot-actuation expansionmovement.

the scope of the hereto an- 3 5. In a warehouse truck, in combinationwith a wheeled vehicle of the character described, a pair of opposingbox-clamping arms provided with extensions therefrom supported by thevehicle for transverse sliding movement, powertransmitting meansconnected with said extensions for actuating the same inwardly andoutwardly as respects the vehicle, power-applying means thereforcomprising a pair of foot-actuated pedals operated independently to'respectively effect said outward and inward movement, means operating tolock said sliding extensions of the clamping arms against box-influencedoutward movement only, following the actuation of the arms to a selectedclamping position, and means .operating automatically under theinfluence of pedal-actuated outward movement of the sliding extensionsfor releasing said locking means.

6. In a warehouse truck, in combination with a wheeled vehicle of thecharacter described having at its lower end a track-forming channel ofan inverted-T form extending the approximate width of the vehicle, and apair of opposing boxclamping members of relative L-shaped planconfigurations one arm of which is of an inverted- T cross sectionalform for tracking engagement in the channel, the other arm of therespective members projecting forwardly from opposite sides of thevehicle and providing a terminal finger adapted to engage under thelateral edges of the boxes, means connected with the tracking arms ofthe clamping members for collectively actuating the arms outwardly andinwardly, a pair of foot pedals operatively connected with said meansand operating independently to respectively move the arms outwardly andinwardly, pawl-and-rack mechanism acting to lock said arms againstboxinfiuenced outward movement beyond a selected clamping position, andmeans operating automatically in response to pedal-actuated outwardmovement of the sliding arms for disengaging the pawl from the teeth ofthe rack.

7. In a warehouse truck, a wheeled vehicle of the character describedhaving at its lower end a track-forming channel of an inverted-T form"extending the approximate width of the vehicle,

a pair of opposing box-clamping members providing slide arms of aninverted-T cross sectional form received for tracking engagement in saidchannel, the medial webs of said T-members pro-. .5

'jecting through the throat of the T-channel, and means carried by thetruck and operatively engaging said webs for collectively actuating saidsaid T-shaped arms of the members being adapted for introduction to-thechannel to locate the 7 other arms of the same at opposite sides of thevehicle to project forwardly therefrom for clamping the boxtherebetween, and means carried by the vehicle for imparting collectivemovement to the tracking arms of said clamping members outwardly andinwardly of the channel, said" means comprising a rotative disc member,wrist pins .carried thereby at relatively diametrically opposite sidesof the disc member, connecting arms linking, the wrist'pins with innerends of the tracking arms, a vertically movable thrust block, connectionbetween said thrust block and the disc member for operating the discmember in converse directions of rotation responsive to the relativedirections of movement of the thrust block, a rack bar, a pawl carriedby the thrust block for locking the thrust block against movement in onedirection of reciprocatory travel, a fulcrumed foot lever havingconnection with the thrust block for actuating the thrust block in theopposite direction of its reciprocatory travel, said lever-influencedtravel of the thrust block actuating the disc member to force thetracking arms inwardly, and foot-actuated means for simultaneouslydisengaging said pawl from the teeth of the rack and actuating the discmember to force the tracking arms outwardly.

9. The structure as defined in claim 8 wherein the travel of the wristpins is in an arc passing through the vertical plane of thediscaxis andin which the opposite extremes of the arcuate movement lie approximatelyequidistant from said vertical plane whereby to obtain relativelyuniform leverage upon the tracking arms throughout the range of movementof the latter.

10. In a warehouse truck, in combination with a truck frame, and a pairof opposing clamping jaws slidably supported for movement toward andfrom one another, a member slidably supported for movementlongitudinally of the frame and a power-transmitting member common toeach of the jaws and operated by said slide member for regulating thespan of the jaws, and means by which said slide member is actuatedlongitudinally of the frame comprising a pedal-operated togglestructure, said toggle structure consisting in companion upper and lowerarms the upper of which is coupled to the slide member and provided atits opposite end with an integral pedal and the lower of which isfulcrumed at its lower end about a fixed pivot and at its upper endpivotally connected to the pedal-forming arm at the approximatemid-length of the latter.

11. A warehouse truck comprising, in combination, a pair of opposingclamping arms supported for span-regulating expansion and contractionmovements from and toward each other in rectilineal planes, mechanismfor efiecting said movements comprising a pivotally mounted means commonto each of the arms and having independent crank connection therewith,and manually-controlled means slidably supported for movement in arectilineal plane acting to transmit movement to the pivotally mountedmeans for operating the cranks to regulate said clamping arms. a

WILLIAM A. BERG.

